Stanley manager John Coleman believes it may be written in the stars for his side to earn promotion through the League Two play-offs.

The Reds missed out on the chance to qualify through the automatic promotion places when they failed to get the win they required against Stevenage on the final day of league season.

They now get the chance to go up through the play-offs instead, with the team taking on Wimbledon in the first leg of the semi-final tomorrow.

While Coleman was gutted to drop out of the top three, he feels it may be destiny for the team to lift the play-off trophy at Wembley.

“A club of this magnitude has never been to Wembley, so maybe it’s fate that we’re in the play-offs,” he told the club’s official website.

“It’s going to be tough, but everything we do in life at Accrington seems to be tough as we never do things the easy way.

“We’ve finished on 85 points which two or three years ago would have won you the league, so it’s disappointing to miss out on goal difference.

“The sickening thing is that the first time we haven’t scored at home this season was in the biggest game in the club’s history.

“The irony is that we’re now playing Wimbledon which is the place where we had two points robbed off us earlier in the season, so football is a funny old game.”

Accrington dominated the game against Stevenage but failed to find the net, and Coleman felt the playing surface contributed.

“It’s nobody’s fault but the pitch has killed us. It wasn’t conducive to the football that we played, but that’s nobody’s fault but the elements,” he said.

“If it rained we would have had a chance but that’s not making excuses. We couldn’t pass the ball or move it quickly.

“My biggest fears came home to roost as I knew they would be difficult to break down, although I didn’t think they would play as defensively as they did.

“They came to do a job and they’ll feel like they deserved the point which they probably did. I wish we worked their goalkeeper a bit more but it just wasn’t our day.

“I’m still scratching my head thinking how Shay has hit the crossbar with his header. The players needed an arm around them but now we have to come up with a plan that gives us the best chance of qualifying for Wembley.”

A record attendance of 4,386 packed into the Wham Stadium for the game, and Coleman hopes they continue backing the side.

“My message to the fans is not to be disappointed and we can play better and we will play better, so don’t judge us on that.

“Every time we break an attendance record we don’t win, so I’m getting a bit worried about that.

“I need to congratulate Michael Appleton and Darrell Clarke for finishing ahead of us. It’s been a hard-fought campaign and I wish them well in League One.”